Photos That Win Jobs: What Tradies Should Put on Their Website and Google Profile
Published:
Reading time:
Category:
The photos that win jobs are real ones: your finished work, before-and-afters, your van and your team. They show customers what you actually do and who will turn up. Stock photos of smiling models in clean hard hats do the opposite. Take a few good photos on every job, add the best to your Google Business Profile regularly, and use them on the matching service pages of your website.
The photos to take
Photo type | Why it works |
Finished work | Shows the quality customers will get |
Before and after | Shows the problem you solved |
You and your team | Customers see who's coming to their home |
Your van or ute | Helps people recognise you and builds trust |
Work in progress | Shows care: drop sheets, tidy cabling, neat site |
Detail shots | Craftsmanship: joins, finishes, labelled switchboards |
Always get the customer's permission before photographing their home, and avoid house numbers, number plates, faces and anything personal in the background.
How to take better photos on a phone
Clean up first. Remove tools, rubbish and offcuts from the shot.
Use natural light. Turn on lights and open blinds; avoid shooting straight into a window.
Hold the phone level and step back to show the whole job, then take a closer detail shot.
Shoot before and after from the same spot, at the same angle.
Take several and keep the best. Delete blurry or dark shots.
Go easy on filters. Customers want to see the real result.
Google's photo requirements
For Business Profile photos, Google says:
Format: JPG or PNG
Size: between 10 KB and 5 MB
Recommended resolution: 720 px tall by 720 px wide; minimum 250 by 250 px
Quality: in focus and well lit, with no significant alterations or excessive use of filters
Videos can be up to 30 seconds long, up to 75 MB, at 720p or higher (Google Business Profile Help).
Google also recommends adding a logo and a cover photo that best represents your business.
Where to use them
On your Google Business Profile
A clear logo and cover photo
Recent job photos, added regularly rather than all at once
Team and van photos
On your website
Each service page should show photos of that service, not a generic gallery
Before-and-afters near your call to action
A real team photo on the about page
A short caption describing the job, such as "Switchboard upgrade, 1960s home, Sunshine"
Make photos load fast
Photos straight from a phone are often several megabytes each, which slows your website down on mobile data. Resize and compress them before uploading, or ask your web designer to make sure the site does it automatically.
Common mistakes
Using stock photos instead of real work
Dark, blurry or cluttered photos
Photos showing customers' faces, addresses or number plates
A big gallery dump with no captions
Uploading full-size phone photos that slow the website
Next step
Morphic builds websites for tradies around your real job photos, and its Google Business Profile management keeps your profile active. Get a free quote.
Also see Google Business Profile optimisation in Kings Park.
Related reading: What Should a Tradie Website Include? A 15-Point Checklist and Tradie Branding: Making Your Van, Uniforms and Website Match.
Key Takeaways
Real photos of your work, team and van win more trust than stock images.
Take before-and-after photos from the same angle.
Google recommends JPG or PNG photos between 10 KB and 5 MB, ideally 720 by 720 px.
Use job photos on the matching service page, with a short caption.
Compress photos before uploading so your website stays fast.
Emon Datta
Founder, Morphic Agency
Morphic Agency is a Melbourne-based UX design agency. We've shipped 50+ products across 15+ countries.
